


Bloodstain

by Space_Cowgirl21



Category: Naruto
Genre: Action & Romance, Adventure, Angst, F/M, Nara clan appreciation, Slow Burn, well slow-ish burn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-16
Updated: 2018-09-16
Packaged: 2019-07-13 09:10:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,351
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16014797
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Space_Cowgirl21/pseuds/Space_Cowgirl21
Summary: In the 29 years of her life, Emiko has been faced with tragedy after tragedy. The high expectations placed on her due to the grandfather she never knew and sister who abandoned her pushed Emiko to train hard as a child in order to prove herself.Her life seems to be filled with one tragedy after another and the constant in both the good and bad times always is Kakashi Hatake. From training as children to completing missions together, they have formed a bond though the shared emotional baggage has always kept them from becoming as close as they could be.Now, Emiko and Kakashi have both been given charge of rookie teams and are about to face not only great danger but the past they both wish they could forget.





	Bloodstain

# Chapter 1: Meeting the Team

 _Emiko was running fast through a forest. She did not know what was pursuing her and she found herself unable to look back, but she knew something bad had to be behind her._  
“Koko!” A feminine voice called from the distance. Emiko glanced around to try and locate source of the name. She saw a clearing ahead of her and a familiar man standing there.  
“Koko!” The voice called again. As she kept running into the clearing, she found the man standing in front of a memorial.  
She stopped running or rather, she found that she could not move. She was frozen in her spot. She tried to call out to the man but nothing came out.  
“Koko!” The voice changed. This time it was not the voice of a young girl but that of a man. Emiko was still unable to move or speak. She watched as the man started to turn around and face her.  
  
“Emiko! Get out of bed and face the day!” Alarmed at the volume of the voice, Emiko shot up in bed grabbing a kunai hidden by her bed. Unfortunately, she had moved too quickly and was now seeing stars.  
“Is that any way to greet your friend in the morning?” Might Guy asked from where he was standing at the foot of her bed. Emiko groaned and dropped the kunai before swinging her legs off the bed so she was sitting properly. Looking at her clock, she saw it was eight in the morning.  
“I’m always happy to see you, but what’s the reason for this wake up call?” Guy flashed her his signature smile.  
“Well, today’s your first squad meeting so I thought I would stop by and wish you luck.”  
“At eight in the morning?” She asked incredulously.  
“No time like the present. I’m actually heading out on a mission soon with my squad so I thought I would stop by now.” Guy’s eyes wandered to the windowsill of Emiko’s apartment where three framed photos stood. Emiko’s eyes followed and saw he was looking at the picture from their squad. So many years had gone by, but Guy was still sporting the same haircut as back then, and Emiko knew that no matter where he was and what he was doing, Genma, their other teammate, had a senbon in his mouth. Emiko supposed she still looked the same with the exception of how long her hair had gotten. Of course, Choza-Sensei was as jovial as ever and his bright red hair never seemed to dull.  
  
Noticing how quiet Guy had been, she looked over at him and found that he was still staring at the windowsill, but his gaze had shifted to one of the other photos. Of the two remaining photos, there was only one which would draw his attention like that. She did not even turn to look at it.  
“So,” she said calling his attention away from the photo. “Did you stop by Kakashi’s already?” Guy’s face changed from looking nostalgic and forlorn to a smirk.  
“Of course I did. He is my number one rival after all. I needed to check in on what he had planned for his squad’s first day.” Emiko rolled her eyes as she did whenever Guy mentioned the one-sided rivalry.  
“And? What did he say?”  
“He wasn’t there. I suppose he was so excited that he’s already at the academy waiting to meet the kids.” Emiko knew as well as Guy that that was not the case. Now she knew his main reason for waking her up so early.  
“I see. Well, if I run into him, I’ll let him know you stopped by.”  
“Thanks,” Guy grinned. “Well I should be off now.”  
  
Once Guy left, Emiko changed into her usual outfit of maroon kimono with a mesh top and shorts underneath. She tied her headband on her forehead and threw on her chunin vest. As she sat on her bed to put her shoes on, she could not help but gaze at the photograph Guy had noticed earlier. It had been taken not too long after the squad photo. A slightly disheveled and Emiko sat grinning on the grass next to a boy who showed no physical sign of having just finished a spar and also no emotion. Minato-Sensei had insisted on taking the picture after one of their training sessions before the Chunin Exams.  
“Oh, Kakashi,” she sighed. So much had changed since then, but he was one of the few constants in her life. Unconsciously, her eyes shifted to the last picture. She was only a toddler when the picture was taken. She was getting a piggyback ride from a young woman with blonde hair and brown eyes.  
With a snap, Emiko turned away from the photographs. There was no use getting caught reminiscing on a distant past. She had to prepare for day one with her squad and more importantly, she had a message to pass on from Guy and she knew exactly where to look for the missing ninja. In fact, it was the exact place she had been before Guy woke her up.  
  
Sure enough, a few minutes later, Emiko found herself back in her dream. Or rather, she found herself in the exact situation as her dream. She was momentarily frozen to her spot when she saw the familiar gray haired man standing in front of the memorial. No many how often she found herself in this exact situation, she always felt heartache at the sight of him standing there.  
“So,” she said knowing that Kakashi was aware of her presence. “You’re up early. You must be excited for another group’s attempt at the bell test.”  
“Unless I’ve lose track of time, you’re up earlier than usual as well.” His voice was always so unwavering and cool. Kakashi turned around to face her and from the one visible eye, she could tell he was smiling. She knew him well enough to know that moments before, that smile was not there.  
  
“I had an unexpected wake up call thanks to our dear friend Guy. He stopped by your place too but you were already up and out the door.” Kakashi started walking in her direction.  
“Well, I’m sure I’ll see him around soon enough.”  
“He just left on a mission but wanted me to wish you luck with the new kids.”  
“Well, I’m not sure luck has anything to do with it.” Emiko rolled her eyes. “But what about you? Are you ready for another try?”  
Kakashi was referencing the first time Emiko was given a squad. The team failed her test and were sent back to the academy. That had been four years ago, and she had taken up more missions instead of trying again the past few years. On the other hand, Emiko had lost track of the number of teams who had failed Kakashi’s test. While neither of them had said it, however, this year was looking to be an unordinary experience. His team included both Naruto Uzumaki, the legacy of Minato-Sensei, and Sasuke Uchiha, the lone survivor of his clan. The same clan to which Obito belonged. Emiko did not know much about the third member of Kakashi’s team.  
“I’ve been up so long and haven’t had a bite to eat,” Kakashi said as he stood next to Emiko. “If I recall, you owe me a free meal.” He sounded very chipper and Emiko could not help but laugh.  
“I guess I do. Lucky for you, I went shopping yesterday so I can cook us a feast.” The two shinobi started walking out of the clearing towards the village. They had made that walk together many times.  
  
After eating breakfast back at Emiko’s home, Kakashi bid farewell claiming he needed to prepare for his first team meeting. Emiko knew for a fact that he was either going back to the memorial or going home to read one of his trashy novels. However, she did need to prepare to meet up with her new squad, so she did not stop Kakashi from going.  
Walking over to her desk, she picked up the file on her new students. The first profile was for Mai Nara. Emiko knew her uncle well. She was curious to see if Mai was as strong with strategy as Shikaku. The second profile was for Mamiko Kato, a girl who apparently showed promise as a genjutsu user. Finally, there was Keita Noguchi. Emiko did not know much about this boy. After today, however, she would know exactly what she was dealing with. She put the files down, and grabbed the sash holding her multitude of scrolls. She put this on over her right shoulder as she exited her home.  
  
It did not take too long for her to reach the academy. As planned, she was there before the students. She sat down on top of the desk at the front of the classroom and pulled a scroll out of her sash. Placing it beside her, she leaned back and gazed around the classroom. She found it hard to believe how much time had past since she sat here with Gai and Genma waiting to meet their squad leader. While they had grown into great friends, she had not been thrilled to find out Guy was on her squad. Emiko and everyone else had no faith in his ability back then. Nowadays, Emiko would never dream of trying to take Gai on in a fight. She laughed at the memory of Guy running after Kakashi constantly challenging him to a fight. Guy’s reaction to discovering Emiko and Kakashi were sparring partners had been priceless.  
  
“Do you think our sensei is already here?” A girl’s voice drifted in from the hallway.  
“What kind of jonin would be late on the first day?” Emiko laughed at this response as she knew Kakashi had no intention of showing up on time. The door to the room slid open and the three students she had been reading about strolled in. First was Mamiko Kato, a short girl with her brown hair braided down her back. The other two were walking side by side behind her. Mai Nara possessed the Nara clan’s signature black hair and dark eyes. Emiko immediately noticed the bandage wrapped around her knee. Keita Noguchi was an average sized kid for his age. Something about him seemed familiar, but Emiko could not place it.  
  
“Well, hi there,” Emiko said as the three kids stopped in front of her. “My name is Emiko. Welcome to my team!” There was a moment of silence.  
“Uh,” Mai said, “nice to meet you.”  
“Well now, contain your excitement. I guess we should start with some introductions. Nara, you can start.” This caught the girl by momentary surprise, but she made no comment about it.  
“I’m Mai Nara, um, what else do you want to know?”  
“Hmm,” Emiko said as if she did not know what she wanted to say. “I guess let me know what you do for fun and why you want to be a ninja.”  
“Ok, well, for fun...well I play go and shogi with my cousin.” Emiko smiled at this. She was sure Mai was as skilled as her uncle in the game. “I want to be a ninja because it just makes sense to me to do it.”  
“Ok! Next!” She pointed at the lone boy of the group.  
“I’m Keita Noguchi, I think naps are fun and I want to be a ninja to help others.”  
“Alright.” Emiko still could not get a great read on this kid. There was some familiarity she just could not place. “And lastly.”  
“Hi! I’m Mamiko Kato! What I do for fun? I read and uh play with my little brother. I want to be a ninja because I’ll get to go on cool missions. I saw some ANBU the other day and they look so cool!” On the outside, Emiko made no reaction, but on the inside she felt anxiety rise at the mention of ANBU. She realized that the students were looking at her expectantly.  
  
“Great! Well, I guess I should answer the questions as well to be fair. As I said, my name is Emiko. For fun, I spar with friends and cook. I became a shinobi to continue the will of fire the first hokage started in this village. And now that we have introductions out of the way, I have to deliver what you probably will find as unfortunate news. Before we can really start training and going on missions, there’s one more test you need to take”  
“What?!” They cried in unison.  
“Only a select few rookie teams can continue. You need to pass a test as a squad or you will be sent back to the academy.”  
“This is ridiculous. I thought we were through taking tests.” Mai said.  
“Ah, but unfortunately, you will find life is full of tests. As a ninja, you will pushed into trials you never imagined.” There was a shift in mood when she said that. Keita was much more attentive and Mamiko began fidgeting with her hands.  
“So, can we get this over with?” Mai sounded annoyed.  
  
Emiko picked up the scroll next her and tossed it at Mai. The girl looked surprised but caught it with ease.  
“Everything you need to know is in this scroll.” She got down from the desk and began walking towards the door.  
“Where are you going?” Keita asked.  
“You’ll find out.” Emiko said as she walked out. “Nice to meet you all!” There was a smile on her face. She had decided to try and emulate Kakashi with his exit. He was always so cool and casual and the air of mystery he created around himself made her laugh.  
Emiko hurried out of the school and headed towards the nearby forest. She had to finish preparing a few things before the squad showed up that evening. By dawn, she would know whether those three were truly ready to be shinobi.


End file.
